Waking up with the Kings: March 6

The Los Angeles Kings took a circuitous route to earning a much-needed win over the Montreal Canadiens Thursday night at Staples Center, jumping out to an early two-goal lead before surrendering it during a 94-second stretch in the second period and having to fight from behind to win in a shootout after Max Pacioretty put the visitors in front midway through the third. Marian Gaborik’s two power play goals and shootout-opening snipe helped cement the win and earn the winger first star status in a game in which the Kings had plenty of opportunities to widen their two-nothing lead in the second period but were unable to do so. Scoring chances favored Los Angeles, as did shot attempts and shots on goal – though Montreal has not been a team to regularly out-shoot or out-chance its opponents despite its stellar record. Our favorite term “bearing down” would have been used repeatedly had the Kings not tied the game late in the third period, though it’s a moot point in the end considering the Kings scored three times and added one in the shootout to win a 4-3 game against the league’s stingiest defensive team (even if the Canadiens started their back-up goalie).

Though a more familiar power play unit was on the ice when Los Angeles tied the game late, two new-look units took the ice for the other power plays, and the re-tooled second unit found more success. When Torrey Mitchell was whistled for hooking at 2:27 of the first period, a unit of Sekera-Doughty-Carter-Kopitar-Toffoli took the ice. After a shift in which they struggled to move the puck effectively or generate any particularly dangerous looks, they were followed by a group of Muzzin-McNabb-Gaborik-Lewis-Williams that quickly cashed in when Marian Gaborik deftly deflected a low Brayden McNabb shot past Dustin Tokarski with his back to the net. With the type of power play drought that the Kings had entering the game – they were 2-for-32 with one of the goals an empty-netter – it’s not a surprise that Sutter opted for a change in personnel. Power plays run hot and cold, and perhaps last night’s 2-for-5 performance signals a shift upwards after hitting a seasonal nadir.

The urgency was there for Los Angeles, and for the second consecutive game the Kings engineered an excellent start, out-shooting the Habs 13-2 and winning board battles regultarly against a team that was playing its third game in four nights. The intangibles are there for this Kings team, and on Thursday they again showed the same type of resolve that was oozing out of SAP Center, Honda Center, United Center, Madison Square Garden and Staples Center last spring. When the Kings needed a goal late, they calmly and efficiently moved the puck along the right wing without forcing any plays before Anze Kopitar found Marian Gaborik to Dustin Tokarski’s left, and without much resistance, Gaborik cut into an area in the front of the crease where many goals are scored from and deposited the puck past the goaltender’s right pad. There was no hurry or stress, only a surgical operation that produced a goal by getting the puck onto the sticks of the team’s best players. I asked Jake Muzzin after the game what his focus is on a late-game power play when the team trails by a goal. “Give the puck to Kopitar, really, is what I thought there,” he responded. “You want the puck in the hands of your best guy, and you want to take your time. You don’t want to force plays.”